Picking eyewear for tactical or combat duty can be a daunting
task. First, they cost money, more than the average pair of
industrial safety glasses. Second, because of the numerous styles
and models to select from, picking the wrong eyewear can be an
expensive proposition when you have to buy a second pair because the
first pair were wrong for the application.

However, once you understand your mission, environment and needs, it
becomes much clearer. We will try to help with this process so
you can make the correct selection the first time out. As a note,
all of the recommendations below provide full ultraviolet ray
protection, which is important if you spend significant amounts of time
outdoors.

Where Will You Be Using Your
Eyewear?

Middle East Combat
If you are military and you expect to be in the Middle East, on the
ground in a combat environment, you absolutely not only need protection
of ballistic polycarbonate lenses, you also need wind and dust
protection. Any Middle East duty will eventually fall prey to
dust storms, which are quite unbelievable in the Middle East, not
unlike the occasional dust storm in the desert southwest of the U.S.,
but they occur in the Middle East far more frequently. This is
particularly so during the time period starting around late February
through early June, but they can occur periodically throughout the
year. The blowing dust are very fine particles, almost
talcum-powder-like that seeps into every nook and cranny of vehicles,
buildings, and yes, your body.

It is highly recommended if you perform convoy duty, find yourself
routinely in armor vehicles on patrol, or routinely kicking down doors,
you need wind and dust protection for your eyes plus ballistic
protection. Dust storms can come up at any moment, and what seems
like a regular hot day in hell can turn into a blinding, limited
visibility environment within moments. The only option of choice
are gasketed goggles or sunglasses. Your goggles or sunglasses
must have a gasket that seals most of the wind and dust out from around
your eyes. Equally important, you need maximum protection from
shrapnel from IED or RPG attacks.

The following are a partial list of eyewear that not only meet rigid
military ballistic shrapnel protection standards, they also have
gaskets, are vented to minimize fogging and depending on the model, may
be convertible from gasketed to non-gasketed regular sunglasses.
This list is not inclusive of all models available, but they do
represent the most popular styles used by military personnel in the
Middle East. They include both single lens gasketed combat goggle
styles as well as gasketed combat sunglasses. Some sunglass
models have automatic light-adjusting lenses that darken in the sun and
lighten up in the shade, night or indoors. Others have
interchangeable tinted and clear lenses.

For the most part the above models are somewhat pricey as far as
eyewear goes. But understand that these models undergo rigorous
product development and qualification to meet MIL PRF ballistic
standards. Sometimes manufacturers will spend years in
development spending millions of dollars for tooling, testing
qualifications and re-tooling to meet the standards.
Additionally, after production begins, they are tested routinely to
ensure they continue meet military standards. These are certainly
not designed like your average pair of sunglasses.

Middle East Combat
Support/Support Duty and U.S. Tactical Duty
So as to not insult service members in the Middle East, we understand
that anywhere in Afghanistan or Iraq is classified as a combat
environment. But, let's face it, there are a number of jobs in
combat zones that do not require kicking in doors and exposure to dusty
environments. There are a large number of combat support and
support functions in the Middle East that do not see combat as a daily
routine. As such, spending money for gasketed combat eyewear is
certainly not necessary, but full MIL PRF shrapnel protection is of the
utmost need.

If you find yourself in an environment where wind and dust is just not
an issue, there is another level of eyewear that is very popular not
only in the Middle East but also for U.S. based military personnel and
law enforcement in the U.S. They are single lens shield style
wrap-around non-gasketed combat sunglasses. Personnel who would
use this type of eyewear want, or in some cases absolutely need,
maximum ballistic protection, but are not routinely exposed to dusty
and windy environments. The following list of products are not a
complete list of available products, but represent a broad
cross-section of products that provide full MIL PRF protection from
shrapnel caused by IED or RPGs. These products are also used
extensively by combat personnel in the Middle East during the non-dust
storm season. They provide full peripheral vision, are
comfortable to wear for extended periods of time and most provide
interchangeable lenses for day and night wear.

Non-Combat Duty
Now the selection is wide open. You may need some level of wind
or dust protection, but more importantly, you simply need protection
from the bright sunlight. This is where you can save some
bucks. More importantly, if you're back in the U.S., work in a
non-combat environment in support functions in Kuwait or Qatar you need
simple eye protection. If you are training in the U.S. preparing
for Middle East deployment, you may not want to expose your expensive
combat eyewear to damage. Having another pair of inexpensive
eyewear to keep things like shell casings from hitting you in the eye,
a lot of combat personnel keep a pair of U.S. duty/training sunglasses,
or even off-duty sunglasses around for non-combat environments.
If you are in the navy aboard ship, or in the Army running maritime
logistical support, or live in the green zone providing support
functions, you will find the items listed below very useful for your
selection. The following list is not inclusive of what's
available, because the list would be endless for the purposes of this
article. But, these represent what appear to be the most popular
selections. Most all are ANSI rated for high velocity impact
protection and some have removable gaskets as well as interchangeable
lenses. Others may have fixed non-interchangeable lenses, but the
cost is so low buying a tinted and clear model for day and night wear
is quite inexpensive. The prices overall are a fraction of what
you would pay, but all provide protection with ballistic polycarbonate
lenses. If you are around water, we highly recommend the
polarized models for day wear, which greatly reduce blind spots on the
water surface from reflected glare.

There are many other options available, not only this list above.
But these represent what appear to be the most popular selections.

Off Duty Eyewear
Hey, I don't like to wear my duty glasses while I'm off duty.
What's the trend today?

The hottest sunglasses right now, if you haven't noticed, are aviator
sunglasses. Yes, the traditional American design dating back to
the late 1930s is in hot demand right now and growing by leaps and
bounds. They were the hottest design during the Vietnam war and
faded out from the sunglass scene in favor of wrap-arounds for the most
part starting in the late 1980s, that is until now. But, you
can't keep a good looking design down forever. And, during times
of war, military designs, and especially aviators, become very
popular.

The designs available today range from the original Ray Ban aviator
design (egg-shaped) to the more modern, and current military aviator
issue Randolphs. If you want ballistic protection, we recommend
selecting a model with ballistic polycarbonate lenses. If you
want tempered glass, we recommend American Optical or Randolph
Aviators. But tempered glass lenses are not shatterproof or even
shatter resistant. If they're hit hard enough, they will break,
so make your selection carefully based on your intended use. If
you really want the top of the line, certainly XPO Aviators represent
some of the finest craftsmanship in glass lens aviator styles available
in today's market.

So, are we kidding when we say aviators are the hottest selling
sunglass design right now? Not one bit. Just take a look at
what people are wearing on television and the movies. Hollywood
stars, along with rockers are pushing the styles these days and you
can't hardly find one wearing wrap-around sunglasses anymore.
They have dropped off the face of the earth and anyone caught wearing
them is considered... well, out of touch with the latest styles.
And frankly, why shouldn't aviators be so popular? They look good
on any facial structure as compared to wrap-arounds which frankly just
look goofy on some people. But, you're hard pressed to find a
person that doesn't look good in aviator sunglasses. The list
below represent, for the most part, traditional designs used by
military aviators over the past seventy years. There are a few
that wrap slightly, giving them an updated look, but the vast majority
of buyers are looking for traditional aviator styles.

Regardless of your specific needs, todays modern eyewear offers
outstanding eye protection and a ton of styles for every taste.
Prices range from far less than $20 for very good, well engineered
eyewear, upwards to well over $100 for top-of-the-line protective
combat sunglasses and goggles.

A Final Note About Auto Light
Adjusting Lenses
A number of people we have corresponded with in the Middle East tell us
their new light-adjusting lenses don't darken when they go into the
sun. This is a problem caused by the heat in the Middle
East. High temperatures sometimes tend to prevent the darkening
feature from activating on a new pair of sunglasses. There is a
simple trick to get them to work if you find yours will not
darken.

Place them in a refrigerator, or better yet a freezer if it's available
for a couple hours or longer. If that's not available, remove the
gasket, if it's removable, and place the whole thing in a bucket of
cold ice water. Finding ice is usually not a problem in the
Middle East. The military is pretty good about making sure ice is
around. Remove them after a few hours and take them into direct
sunlight. They will not darken if placed behind a window due to
the ultraviolet ray blocking features of glass, so take them directly
into the sun. They should start to darken when exposed to the
direct sunlight. You may have to repeat this process two or three
times to kick start them. Once you get them to darken to some
degree, they will continue to darken more over time with regular
use. You won't have to freeze them daily to use them, this
process is generally limited to one or two times in the beginning, then
they should work normally. This is generally not a problem when
temperatures are below 85 to 90 degrees F.

If you purchase a pair while in the states you might want to activate
them before you leave by exposing them to direct sunlight. Once
they darken you shouldn't have a problem when you arrive in the Middle
East. This same kind of problem can also occur in the summer of
the southern and western states of the U.S.

Also remember, for light-adjusting lenses to darken, they need to be
exposed to direct sunlight. If you are inside a vehicle,
light-adjusting lenses do not get a full exposure to ultraviolet rays,
which activates the darkening feature, so they tend to lighten up while
in a vehicle, and to some degree in heavily shaded areas. So, if
you want a dark tint while driving, we recommend permanently tinted
sunglasses. If you prefer a light tint while in the shade or
driving a vehicle, light-adjusting lenses will work perfectly for your
needs. If you spend a lot of time in direct sunlight, or
routinely move from outdoor to indoor environments, light adjusting
lenses are an excellent choice.